Mailer controversy heats up 4th Subcircuit race

The race for the 'A' vacancy in the 4th Subcircuit has heated up with charges from the Julie Line Bailey campaign that a 'friend to friend card' circulated on behalf of rival Edward M. Maloney 'recklessly misstates' Bailey's credentials.

Here's the mail piece, almost exactly as I received it last evening from Katherine Bailey, the candidate's daughter (I did manage to figure out how to remove the signature from the card).

The controversial language was highlighted by Katherine Bailey:

In her email to FWIW last evening, Katherine Bailey wrote that, contrary to the assertion above, Julie Line Bailey has argued three cases before the Illinois Supreme Court; indeed, Katherine wrote, she'd accompanied her mother to Springfield for one of the arguments.

In a written statement subsequently received by FWIW, Julie Line Bailey said, "While I expect that Mr. Maloney did not intentionally deceive the voters, his reckless misstatement of the facts is surprising and disheartening, particularly for a person who wants to act as a finder of fact in judicial disputes."

In an email written in response to an inquiry from FWIW, Maloney stated, "The original draft of the card only said 'other candidates.' Upon reviewing Ms. Bailey's home page on her website, she initially mentions arguing in State and Appellate court cases. In reviewing her site now, we see that she does reference three Supreme Court cases. While it is true that many attorneys never have the chance to appear there, apparently Ms. Bailey did. I regret any confusion caused by this inadvertent error on the postcard, apologize to Ms. Bailey and retract the statement."